WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says he would "think about changing" the Washington Redskins name if he owned the football team as he waded into the controversy involving a word many consider offensive to Native Americans. Seahawks #64 Jersey . Obama, in an interview with The Associated Press, said team names such as the Redskins offend "a sizable group of people." He said that while fans get attached to the names, nostalgia may not be a good enough reason to keep them in place. "I dont know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things," he said in the interview, which was conducted Friday at the White House. An avid sports fan who roots for his hometown Chicago Bears, Obama said he doesnt think Washington football fans are purposely trying to offend Native Americans. "I dont want to detract from the wonderful Redskins fans that are here. They love their team and rightly so," he said. But he appeared to come down on the side of those who have sharply criticized the football teams name, noting that Native Americans "feel pretty strongly" about mascots and team names that depict negative stereotypes about their heritage. The teams owner, Dan Snyder has vowed to never abandon the name. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last month that the league should pay attention to those offended by the name -- a subtle change in position for Goodell, who had more strongly supported the name in his previous statements this year. Lanny J. Davis, an attorney for the Redskins, said the teams fans dont intend to "disparage or disrespect" anyone. "The name Washington Redskins is 80 years old. Its our history and legacy and tradition," Davis said in an emailed statement in which he also identified himself as an Obama supporter. "We Redskins fans sing Hail to the Redskins every Sunday as a word of honour, not disparagement." Other professional sports teams have Native American names, including footballs Kansas City Chiefs and baseballs Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians. Davis referred to fans of those teams and hockeys Chicago Blackhawks in his statement, saying Redskins fans "love our team and its name and, like those fans, we do not intend to disparage or disrespect a racial or ethnic group." Numerous colleges and universities have changed names that reference Native Americans. St. Johns changed its mascot from the Redmen to the Red Storm, Marquette is now the Golden Eagles instead of the Warriors and Stanford switched from the Indians to the Cardinal. The Redskins name has attracted a fresh round of controversy in recent months, with local leaders in Washington calling for a name change and some media outlets refraining from using the name. The name is the subject of a long-running legal challenge from a group of Native Americans seeking to block the team from having federal trademark protection. Congressional lawmakers have introduced a bill seeking the same goal, though it appears unlikely to pass. "What a prudent and wise use of the bully pulpit," Suzan Shown Harjo, a plaintiff in that case, said in an interview Saturday. "I am so glad that he said that and I hope that people hear a reasoned response from the president and will pay attention to this issue." Harjo said the issue "involves lots of hurt and pain and ongoing name-calling and bullying of our children that goes with this name. We just need to have an end to it." "Theres no such thing as a good stereotype, no matter how well-intentioned, no matter how good people feel about it," Harjo added. "It still has negative ramifications for our people." "These are relics of the past. They should be consigned to museums and history books and people can feel good about them there," she said. "But they should not be allowed in polite society." Opponents of the Redskins name plan to hold a symposium Monday at the Washington hotel hosting the NFLs fall meeting. "We really appreciate the president underscoring what weve been saying," said Ray Halbritter, leader of the Oneida Indian Nation, a tribe from upstate New York thats been campaigning against the name. "Theres just no place for a professional football team to be using what the dictionary defines as a racially offensive term." Halbritter said the NFL and Snyder could "borrow a page from the president" and use a decision to change the teams name as a "teachable moment." Despite the controversy, an AP-GfK poll conducted in April showed that, nationally, "Redskins" still enjoys wide support. Nearly 4 in 5 Americans dont think the team should change its name, the survey found. Only 11 per cent think it should be changed, while 8 per cent werent sure and 2 per cent didnt answer. Obama said he doesnt have a direct stake in the Redskins debate since hes not a team owner. But he hinted that might be part of his post-White House plans. "Maybe after I leave the presidency," he joked. "I think it would be a lot of fun." "Id probably look at a basketball team before I looked at a football team," said Obama, who plays basketball in his spare time, has coached his daughters basketball team and is a fan of the NBAs Chicago Bulls. "I know more about basketball than I do about football." OBrien Schofield Seahawks Jersey .S. Senate urged NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday to change the Washington Redskins name, saying it is nothing less than a racist slur and the time is ripe to replace it. Jeremy Lane Seahawks Jersey . Vincent Lecavalier - whose Philadelphia Flyers host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night - told reporters after the morning skate that it does make him think twice about the subject, but stopped short on saying if it should be taken out altogether. INDIANAPOLIS -- The collective voice rang out suddenly and unexpectedly: "Louuuuuu!!" A few minutes later, it happened again. For a while, every time Lou Amundson touched the ball in the fourth quarter, the Pacers reserve heard that same encouragement from the crowd. He delivered, scoring a career-high 21 points to help Indiana beat the Portland Trail Blazers 92-75 on Tuesday night Amundson shot 10 for 11 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. His previous season high in scoring was 11, but he had 13 points in the fourth quarter alone. It was just his second time scoring in double figures this season. "Everybody was finding me under the basket wide open, so I was just trying to finish plays and make the most out of my opportunities," he said. Pacers fans couldnt get enough. While Amundson was shooting free throws, "M-V-P" chants rang out from Area 55, home to the loudest, most rowdy group of Pacers fans. Amundson played 23 minutes, just the second time this season hes played more than 20. Paul George, Danny Granger and George Hill each added 11 points for the Pacers. Hill returned after missing two games with a sprained left shoulder. Indiana led by as many as 29 points and snapped a four-game losing streak. The performance was a good setup for Wednesdays game against Atlantic Division leader Philadelphia. "It was great just to get a win," Pacers centre Roy Hibbert said. "Any win right now was good, and now, we have a tough game ahead of us against Philadelphia. Were just going to get mentally prepared and ready to go." It was one of Indianas best defensive efforts of the season. Portlands five assists were the fewest by an NBA team this season. In fact, just once since the start of the 1986-87 season has a team had fewer assists in a game -- the New Orleans Hornets had four on Dec. 12, 2010. "Communication, I think, was the key to the game," Hill said. "We talked on the defensive end all the time and relied on each other and helped each other out. Any time we do that, were going to be a tough team." Portlands LaMarcus Aldridge scored 17 points, but he made just 5 of 15 field goals. Hibbert, who guarded Aldridge often during the game, said the Pacers played him well. "The team defence was good," Hibbert said. "We were just trying to help out as much as possible. We triedd to make things difficult for him. J.R. Sweezy Seahawks Jersey. . Hes a great player." Nolan Smith scored 10 points for the Trail Blazers, who shot a season-low 31.3 per cent from the field and made a season-low 20 field goals. Indiana shot 54 per cent to lead 48-38 at halftime. Hill led the Pacers with 11 points and David West had 10 points and eight rebounds. Aldridge led Portland with 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting in the first half while the rest of the team went 4 for 19. "The missing shots definitely hurt us," Smith said. "We obviously shot badly, and we let that affect our defence. As a team, you never let offence affect defence. But we did, and it just snowballed from there." The Trail Blazers outscored Indiana 19-3 from the free-throw line in the first half to stay in the game. Indiana began extending the lead early in the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Granger put the Pacers up 58-41. A three-point play by Tyler Hansbrough after the Pacers won a jump ball gave the Pacers a 66-47 lead, and an acrobatic layup by Darren Collison on a broken play pushed Indianas lead to 20 points. A left-handed fastbreak layup by Collison bumped the lead to 72-50, and a 3 by George helped the Pacers take a 75-52 lead at the end of the third quarter. Back-to-back layups by Amundson pushed the lead to 79-54 and forced Portland to call timeout. An alley-oop from A.J. Price to Dahntay Jones increased Indianas lead to 87-60. "We were playing good D, and that enabled us to get out and break a little bit and speed up the tempo," Amundson said. "I think that was good for us." ------ NOTES: Indianapolis native Greg Oden was with Portland and was on crutches on the sideline. Oden, Indianas Mr. Basketball in 2006, is out with a left knee injury. ... The Pacers observed a moment of silence for former assistant coach Dick Harter, who died Monday in South Carolina at age 81. Harter coached the defence under Larry Bird when the Pacers made the NBA Finals in 2000. .... Pacers C Jeff Foster was not with the team because of a lingering back issue. ... Portland made 2 of 15 shots in the first quarter. The total was the fewest Indiana has allowed in a first quarter since last March 17 against Portland. It was the fewest field goals Portland has made in a first quarter since STATS, Inc. began tracking the statistic in 2002-03. ' ' '
